After Dawn
by Dylan Ryder
Summary: *Disclaimer* Don’t read this if you plan on playing or watching a Let’s Play of Until Dawn, the PS4 exclusive horror game by Supermassive Games, and don’t want spoilers! I really love this game and highly recommend it :-)


The sound of a door opening woke Chris from his nightmares. Surprisingly, he'd dozed off in the waiting room of the police station he and his friends had been taken to after that horrible night. Mike came in and sat down, accompanied by a police officer. "Samantha." The officer called. Sam stood and followed him out of the room. Chris glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. They'd been interviewing each member of the group for almost three hours. He was ready to go home, and he assumed the others were as well.

Chris turned to his left. Ashley's head rested on his shoulder, hugging his left arm as if she felt safer in this position. He knew how hard last night had been on her, and yet she slept almost...peacefully. He smiled. While the events of the previous night had left him traumatized as well, one good thing had come from all the horror. Chris had finally worked up the nerve to tell Ash how he felt. His mind flashed back to the night before.

Chris opened his eyes and glanced around. A sharp pain struck him in his temple. "Ugh...my fucking head." He muttered. He was sitting at a table, with Ash sitting across from him. A handgun sat in the center of the small table. A cracked brick pillar was visible in the darkness. Chris figured they were still in the weird old building he and Ash had discovered under the Lodge. Despite wearing his jeans and green sweater, he felt chills down his spine.

He glanced down, and fear rose in his chest when he realized his left hand was cuffed to the armrest of his wooden chair. Immediately, he began tugging at the metal cuff around his wrist. "Ohh shit...oh crap…" He looked up at Ash, still unconscious. "Ash?" He called. "Ash!"

Groggily, she lifted her head, groaning. "Aw, jesus Ash - what did he do to you?" Ash's left eye was badly blackened. Her pink and black striped hat still rested on her head. Her face, jacket, and pants were still covered in Josh's blood, from the last evil game that psycho had made them play.

Chris would never forget the moment he'd been told to choose between his best friend and the girl he loved. He'd never forget how sick and disturbed he felt watching the saw blade cut right through Josh, while he screamed in agony.

Ash grimaced. "I...think he hit me." She managed. Chris seethed with anger. "Shit. I'm gonna murder his fucking face off!" He said, not able to think of a better threat in the moment. Ash started crying as she began tugging at her restraints. "What is this?" She asked aloud. Anger continued to flow in Chris. He began struggling with his restraint again. "This is him." He started. Tears ran down Ash's face. "No, Chris…" She stammered. "This is the guy who killed Josh." Chris continued.

Ash's cries became stronger. "Oh my god no! Oh god Chris!" She sobbed. "You murdering piece of shit!" Chris yelled into the darkness around them. "You monster!" Ash began rambling, clearly terrified. "Look around!!! We're gonna die Chris! I don't think I'm ready to die.." Chris stared straight at her. "No-one is going to die." He said calmly, trying to reassure her. She looked back at him. "I wish I could tell you." she said. "It's just not fair!" She yells, anger in her voice. She sobbed loudly.

"What?" Chris asks. "Tell me what?" She looked up at him. "It's too late! Chris what's the point?!" Chris stared at her. "Stop it. Just say-" "We're always talking around it," Ashley interrupted him. Tears were still rolling down her cheeks. "and now, I mean, we've wasted everything!" She sobbed.

"Ashley." Chris said. Suddenly, he didn't feel afraid anymore. If they did die here, he needed her to know how he felt. "None of it was wasted." He continued. "Every second I spent with you...was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time." Now he was crying. "What are you saying Chris?" Ash struggled. "I'm sorry...I should've told you how I felt." Chris said.

"Chris-" Ashley started. "Ashley I swear when we get out of this-" Chris began. Suddenly, there was a loud sound from above them, and a large machine with a saw blade above both Chris and Ash began slowly lowering towards them, ready to tear them apart. "Oh god!" Chris sobbed. Ash began weeping and cowering in her chair. "NO!" She yelled. "Oh god help Chris!" She cried desperately.

"Ashley I'll get you out of this! I won't let you die!" Chris yelled.

Ashley screamed at the saw blade that was inching closer to her, whirring loudly. At that moment, a voice rang out from somewhere around them, instantly filling Chris with dread. "Hello there my special little subjects." The voice of the psycho resonated throughout the room, deep and eerie. "I'm so scared Chris." Ashley whimpered. "Don't be scared." Chris said feebly.

"Oh you should be Ash," The psycho teased, "because here's the twist: Chris has made one fatal choice already today, and now, he must make another." Ashley cried softly as he spoke. "Oh no...no…" The psycho continued explaining the game. "Chris, you can take that gun in front of you and shoot Ashley, or you can shoot yourself." Chris felt numb. "Whoever is left can live. The choice is yours." The psycho finished. Chris jerked the gun upwards towards the saws and fired two rounds, but nothing happened. The psycho laughed, sending another chill down Chris's spine. "Don't be so silly Chris."

The killer went silent, and Chris was left holding the cold pistol in his hands. What do I do?!?! He thought. His thoughts were near incoherent. He didn't want to die. He didn't want Ashley to die. He just stared at the gun. Slowly, he raised the barrel to his neck. "Wait stop!" Ashley burst out suddenly. "You can't do it Chris. It should be me." Chris just stared.

Ash looked at Chris with a scared expression. "You chose to save me before. Let me choose this time." The longer Chris held the barrel of the gun against his flesh, the harder it was to keep it there. "Oh fuck!" He muttered to himself. All of his instincts told him to lower the gun. "Let me choose to save you." Ash begged. "If I do one last thing in my life let me do this! Chris please. Oh god!" She had begun sobbing once again.

Chris had let the gun lower to chest level. He loved Ash for trying so hard to save him, be he would never choose her. He knew what he was going to do. The sound of the whirring saw blades died away. He looked into Ashley's eyes, knowing it would be the last time he'd ever see her. Still tears started forming in his eyes. Still looking at Ash, he raised the gun to his neck once again. "No!" Ashley screamed as Chris pulled the trigger.

"Chris. Hey wake up." Chris opened his eyes. He'd dozed off once again. It was nearly 11:30 now. Ash was shaking him. "Hey. You were having a nightmare. You're crying Chris...do you want to talk about it?" Ash asked gently. Chris wiped his cheeks. Tears had been slowly running down his cheeks.

He sighed and sat up a little. "I was just...dreaming about…." Chris faltered. Did he really want to bring this up again? "What is it? You can tell me Chris." Ashley said. "I dreamt of when I had to choose between killing myself or you." Chris admitted. "I just can't believe that Josh did all this to us. I thought I had been forced to kill him, and it traumatized me. So finding out he tricked me...I don't think I ever could've forgiven him."

Ashley expression changed to one of pain. "Chris," she started. "I'm so grateful you chose to save me twice last night." She said. "I...love you." Amidst all of the different emotions Chris was feeling, he smiled. "I love you too Ash." Ash kissed him.

Last time it had happened, she was more hesitant, and he had pulled away quickly. But this time she was more confident, and so she kissed him deeper, more passionately. He returned the kiss with joy, and after what seemed like only a moment, she pulled back. Chris was unsure they'd ever fully move on from the previous night, but at least he had Ash.


End file.
